1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to dispensing systems. Particularly, the invention relates to dispensing systems facilitating discharging the contents of various collapsible packages such as the tubes containing toothpaste, adhesive pastes, grease paints, various creams, shampoos, some medicaments and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A wide variety of devices have been suggested and provided for the purpose of holding a collapsible tube, such as a tube of toothpaste, and gradually dispensing the contents. These devices range from a simple slotted key, to ceramic rollers, to elaborate geared contraptions.
These devices generally operate with a channel receiving a tube of toothpaste or the like and provided with a means for supporting the tube so as to progressively dispense the contents of the tube. Collapsible containers or tubes typically have flat back ends and provided with an annular cross-section terminating with a relatively narrow neck, which is fitted with a screw-on cap or other such closure. When the cap is removed, the open end of the neck serves as an outlet for the product discharged from the tube for application in the ordinary course of its use. Many such tubes are made from a pliable plastic material which one can squeeze by hand to force product out. These tubes usually do not hold their deformed configuration once the externally applied pressure is released, but rather spring back to approximately their original shape and condition.
Other tubes are constructed of a light weight metal, such as an aluminum compound, for example, and these tubes often do hold their deformed configurations once the applied pressure has been released.
For those tubes which spring back to their approximate original shape, the product they contain can once again spread out in the full volume of the tube. Over time, as the contents are used up, the small amount remaining in the tube can be hard to dispense for use by the usual method of applying finger pressure.
Similarly, in cases where the tubes remain deformed, pockets of cream product may be scattered throughout the tube. Again, this unwanted, sporadic accumulation of the product to be discharged prevents the latter from being fully squeezed out of the tube, if ordinary finger pressure is used.
Some attempts have been made previously to provide mechanical devices which can apply greater force or more evenly distribute the force applied, than is possible using one's fingers only. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,326,420, the tube is secured within a channel by means of its flat end and a slide progressively engages the tube to empty its contents. The structure of this patent may be disadvantaged because as the tube is compressed until a point adjacent its' conically-shaped end, a quantity of material remains trapped at that end. Such a device is generally difficult to use for further squeezing the tube to expel the last material contained in the conical end. One therefore has to insert his fingers into the device to further squeeze the remaining material out of the tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,880,911 attempts to overcome this drawback by providing a seat having an elongated aperture and a bent section, but the aperture does not extend through the bend. The conical end of the tube can be forced down into a recess created by the bent section and the tube emptied of its contents. However, this patent requires that one use his fingers to empty the contents and even if one were to attach a slide to the Robertson device, still, at the end where the last remaining material must be expelled, one would still have to use his fingers to accomplish the job. Accordingly, in each of the foregoing devices where an attempt has been made to minimize manipulation of the tube and to provide an automatic, attractive, economical device, both economy and mechanical operation have been frustrated by the inability to dispense the last remaining material in the tube by automatic means.
In addition to the above-noted disadvantages, the prior art dispensing arrangements had limited flexibility with regard to the number of sizes of packages that could be used in a particular device due to the fact that but a single pressure arm was provided. U.S. Pat. No. 6,302,298 commonly owned with and fully incorporated in this application discloses a squeezing mechanism wherein multiple formations on a container and a slider, which mesh with one another upon advancement of the mechanism along the container. While the squeezing mechanism performs admirably well, the necessity of forming teeth on a container limits the application of this mechanism to specifically manufactured tubes.
It is therefore desirable to provide a multi-use dispensing system capable of effectively squeezing contents of variously dimensioned and shaped flexible tubes in a simple and efficient manner.